Teachable Moments: Helen Keller's perseverance inspired millions

8:28 PM,
Jun. 26, 2013

Helen Keller with Anne Sullivan

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There are some lives whose stories cannot be repeated often enough; the tale of Helen Keller, who was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Ala., is one of those.

On June 1, 1968, The New York Times wrote: "Helen Keller, who overcame blindness and deafness to become a symbol of the indomitable human spirit, died this afternoon in her home. ? She was 87 years old."

When Keller was 19 months old she got sick, and when she recovered, as she recalled years later, "the illness (had) closed my eyes and ears and plunged me into the unconsciousness of a newborn baby." ...